Google Dodges Chrome Sale in Antitrust Case, But Must Share Data

Google avoided a breakup after a US judge ruled against the government's most onerous proposals, including a forced sale of its Chrome browser, another court victory for Big Tech in the biggest antitrust case in three decades.

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Alphabet shares jumped more than 8 percent on Wednesday after the ruling.

AI models represent a long-term threat to the search industry as chatbots and other generative AI technologies become more advanced and behave more like search engines, Judge Amit Mehta said on Tuesday. Still, the Alphabet Inc. company will have to make some concessions, including sharing online search data with rivals and ending exclusive contracts for distribution.

"The emergence of GenAI changed the course of this case," Mehta wrote in the judgment.

The ruling represents a setback for the US government in its bid to curb the power of the biggest US tech companies, falling far short of the most severe remedies sought by antitrust enforcers. The finding follows the Washington-based judge's ruling last year that Google illegally monopolized the markets for online search and search advertising. Mehta held a three-week hearing in April to determine a fix.